Honda Classic: After the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National, English duo Ben Taylor and Matt Wallace are only two strokes behind joint leaders Billy Horschel and Joseph Bramlett.
Bramlett, who has four PGA Tour top-10 finishes, produced a five-under-par round of 65 to tie Horschel for the first-round lead in Florida.
Pierceson Coody, a sponsor exemption playing his first PGA Tour event as a professional, and Justin Suh are one shot back at four under. Since becoming a pro in June, Coody has two wins in 15 outings on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The play was halted for darkness shortly after 6 p.m., and four groups were unable to finish. Carson Young was one of them, sitting at four under with three holes to go.
As many as eight players are on three under par, two shots behind the leaders, including English duo Taylor and Wallace.
Bramlett, 34, led the lead with a bogey-free round, while Horschel had six birdies and one bogey and scrambled brilliantly when he needed to after missing six of 14 fairways and hitting 13 of 18 greens.
A look at the leaderboard @TheHondaClassic when play was suspended for darkness:
T1. Joseph Bramlett -5
T1. @BillyHo_Golf
T3. @Pierceson_Coody -4
T3. Justin Suh
T3. @YoungCarson3 (15)
T6. 8 tied -3— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 23, 2023
“I definitely appreciate when the conditions are difficult and men have to work for it,” said Bramlett, who has never won on the PGA Tour. “I believe that has always worked in my favour.”
Horschel has never won a PGA Tour tournament in his home state of Florida, and his pre-Honda preparations included a trip to the doctor when he eventually gave in and got medication after fighting off a sinus illness for many days.
His 65 was his best score in 33 rounds as a pro at PGA National, having previously shot 66 on two occasions.
“It’s no secret that I work extremely hard out here,” Horschel remarked. “But this week with simply the way I’m feeling and everything, energy’s still not exactly 100 per cent every day.
“I just played fairly good, didn’t do anything exceptional, hit some decent iron shots here and there – I wouldn’t say everything was sort of natural and it was simple.
“I had to sort of work my way into making some decent swings here and there. However, on the whole, it was a fantastic day of golf.”
For golf live today, golf championship, golf match today, latest golf news, golf tournament, live golf tournament, golf club, live golf daily, golf today live, live golf and other golf news follow Livematchupdates.com.
